Category Archives: Sex crimes

A 46-year-old Plano man was sentenced last week to the maximum 20 years in prison after being found guilty of sexual assault of a child, according to the Collin County District Attorney’s Office.

Melvin Pierre Jr. waived a jury trial and was found guilty of the second-degree felony on Jan. 12 after a trial before District Judge Scott Becker. Prosecutors say Pierre and three friends forced a 15-year-old girl to have sex with them in a bedroom in September 2012. The girl later reported the sexual assault to a therapist. Plano police investigated. The girl identified Pierre by a nickname and through a photo line-up, prosecutors say.

After his arrest, Pierre told authorities that he had oral sex with the girl and that friends had sex with her as well. But he said the sex was consensual and that he didn’t know the girl’s age. Prosecutors say Pierre told the girl to tell the other men that she was 19 years old.

A second girl testified during the punishment phase of the trial that Pierre touched her inappropriately as well.

Dallas police are looking for a man who they say broke into a Far North Dallas apartment Monday night and sexually assaulted a woman.

Police are have not identified the exact location of the apartment complex, saying only that it’s located “in the area of Frankford Road and Kelly Boulevard” not far from the President George Bush Turnpike.

They say the assault occurred sometime between 9:40 and 10 p.m. Monday, and that the suspect is a black male last seen wearing a black hoodie. According to police, he may be the same man who was the suspect of a “suspicious person” call made about an hour earlier near Marsh Lane and the Bush Turnpike.

“The suspicious person was looking into apartment windows and also wearing a black hoodie,” says a posting to the Dallas PD website. “However, the race could not be determined. ”

It’s believed the man in both instances is 20 to 30 years old, between 5-foot-8 and 6-foot-2, thin and sporting facial hair.

Police ask anyone with information concerning the man’s identity or whereabouts to call Detective Todd Haecker at 214-288-0284 or the department’s Sexual Assault Unit at 214-671-3584.

[Editor’s note:This item has been updated since it was initially posted.]

A Richardson High School English teacher has been arrested and charged with having an “improper relationship” with a student.

Richardson police say 34-year-old James Quigley, an English teacher at the high school since 2009, was arrested Thursday night. He was taken into custody one day after the Richardson Independent School District placed Quigley on administrative leave.

According to police, the parents of a 16-year-old female student called the department “in reference to her daughter being sent unwanted texts and emails by Richardson High School teacher James Quigley.” An affidavit released by Richardson police Friday evening says Quigley would invite the student to movies and told her they could be “friends with benefits.” The student provided school officials with copies of the texts, according to the affidavit, which says the student felt she was being “harassed” by the teacher.

During an interview with the student, police say, they discovered she and Quigley “had engaged in sexual contact” between May 1 and June 30 of this year. But the girl told investigators that Quigley began pursuing her in March, when he asked for her email address and cell phone number so they could ostensibly talk about an essay she was working on. The affidavit says he started sending her messages that she was “pretty” and had a “pretty neck.” The affidavit says that in May or June of this year, he showed up to her house, kissed her on the forehead and “touched her ‘butt’ while hugging her.” She also told officers Quigley would park in front of her house “on multiple occasions for no reason.”

The 16-year-old told police that at one point — she didn’t remember exactly when — Quigley left a note on her desk, along with a piece of Starburst candy. According to the affidavit, the note said, “I would smash you into thin powder, mix you with water and drink it.”

The girl also told police that Quigley tried to get her to sign a contract in which he offered her this deal: He would give her grades of 85 or higher if she kept the texts quiet, because he didn’t want his wife — also a teacher at Richardson High School — to find out. She refused, says the affidavit, and tried to distance from Quigley. But eventually the girl told police she twice had sex with the teacher — at her house, in her bed. She told police she didn’t say anything until now because “she was embarrassed and afraid.” She also told police Quigley sent her threatening messages.

Quigley was arrested and charged with two second-degree felonies: Improper Relationship Educator/Student and sexual assault.

On Friday, Richardson High School Principal Charles Bruner sent a letter to parents concerning the “serious and troubling situation.” That letter is below.

The investigation is ongoing, and Bruner and police are also asking students with further information to call the Richardson PD at 972-744-4800. Continue reading →

Update at 3:40 p.m., Nov. 13: Police say the investigation has concluded, and no charges are being filed.

Original post, Nov 13: Dallas police said Wednesday they are investigating an allegation of sexual assault at Billy Earl Dade Middle School.

Child abuse detectives went to to the school to investigate a new complaint against an employee at the school, police said. Dallas ISD police had initially investigated the alleged incident, but Dallas police officers became involved after new allegations came out Wednesday.

Police released little other information, citing an ongoing investigation.

The school has been the scene of controversy recently after Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles ordered police to remove trustee Bernadette Nutall from the school last month.

A Dallas County jailer who was accused by police of trying to get a teenage boy to have sex with him has resigned, officials said.

Fernando Hernandez, 32, is charged with sexual assault of a child – criminal solicitation of a minor. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department internal affairs unit was investigating his conduct, but Hernandez resigned late Monday, said department spokeswoman Carmen Castro.

My colleague, Tasha Tsiaperas, broke the story yesterday:

Hernandez has worked for the department since 2007. His wife also works for the department as a jailer. She is currently on maternity leave, Castro said.

Hernandez was driving a gray Kia when he pulled up next to a 14-year-old boy who was walking along South Cockrell Hill Road near Kiest Boulevard. Hernandez asked the boy to engage in a sex act with him, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Hernandez kept asking the teen, and the boy repeatedly said no. Hernandez then got out of his car and grabbed the teenager’s arm. The boy fought him off and fled, police records show.

The teen went to his apartment complex, but Hernandez followed him and asked again for the teen to engage in a sex act with him. The teen went inside and told a relative what happened. He described Hernandez and the gray Kia, police records show.

During police questioning, Hernandez said he asked the teen to engage in a sex act, but he said he did not try to grab the teen, the warrant says.

A McKinney rapist already serving 60 years in prison pleaded guilty Wednesday to a fourth charge of sexual assault involving a fourth woman.

Roger Allen Stulce Jr., 42, described by a prosecutor last year as a dangerous man who preyed on women and gave them nightmares, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in this most recent case. The sentence is to run at the same time as the first 20-year sentence Stulce received in December.

In this most recent case, the woman connected with Stulce through a free online dating site called Plenty of Fish. In December 2011, they met for the first time and went out to dinner at a McKinney restaurant. Afterward, they rented movies and went back to Stulce’s apartment, where he forced the woman to have sex twice.

In April, he was convicted after a second trial of sexually assaulting a woman in July 2012 at the apartment complex where they both lived. He invited her out to have drinks and play pool. They returned to her apartment, where he raped her after she fell asleep. Again, he received the maximum 20-year sentence, but the judge ordered the sentence to start only after the sentence in the first case concluded.

In August, Stulce was convicted in the sexual assault of a third woman. Testimony showed Stulce forced the woman to engage in sexual acts without her consent on at least four separate occasions, including a sexual assault in 2008 in McKinney. He attempted to assault the woman again in 2009 while she was living in California, testimony showed. The 20-year sentence in this case was also stacked, so that Stulce must serve the first two 20-year sentences before he begins serving this sentence.

The women are not being identified because The Dallas Morning News generally does not name the victims of sex crimes.

An Arlington man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for kidnapping and raping a 19-year-old woman at gunpoint a decade ago.

The case went cold for years until DNA evidence tied 56-year-old Charles Green to the crime, according to the Tarrant County district attorney’s office.

“This defendant walked the same streets as his victim for 10 years,” prosecutor Kim D’Avignon said. “Now, thanks to DNA, the hard work of the Pantego Police Department, and this Judge’s sentence, he will never walk the streets again.”

Green was convicted by a jury in April and sentenced Friday evening by Judge Charles Bleil. He must serve 25 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

The crime occurred in 2004 when Green grabbed the woman as she left an auto parts store in Pantego. He then forced her into her car, shoved a gun to her side and got behind the wheel.

The girl offered Green her car and purse, but he said he “just wanted a ride.” Instead he drove her around and asked her personal information before covering her eyes with a wool cap. He then pulled over and raped her at gunpoint.

Green released the woman in East Fort Worth, telling her, “Don’t let this affect your life,” according to the DA’s office. She drove herself to an Arlington hospital.

Eight years after the rape, Pantego police identified Green as the assailant based on DNA evidence collected from the victim the day she was raped. She then picked Green out of a photo lineup.

At trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Green committed other sex offenses, including the molestation of a child under the age of 13, which he confessed to.

Green testified in his own defense and denied committing other offenses. He blamed the 2004 rape on his heavy drug use at the time.